A Mercenary's War Chapter 1: The Prepared Survivor

Chapter 1: The Prepared Survivor

Gao Yang’s body was being tossed around like a ragdoll before his seat belt promptly pulled him back into his seat. Other than seeing the nonstop flashes of lightning from the airplane’s window, Gao Yang could hear the cloudbursts. .h.i.tting the body of the plane accompanied by the booming thunder. Even worse, this s.h.i.tty plane was at least twenty years old. These factors combined made Gao Yang feel regret for the first time since his decision to go to Africa.

The worn-out plane managed to somehow get caught in this G.o.dforsaken weather, making Gao Yang feel like his twenty-three year long life might come to an end.

Strangely, he wasn’t panicked at all. In fact, he was trying to figure out exactly where they were. Or rather, where they were in the sky. If he were to die, at the very least he should find out where he was going to die.

Gao Yang turned his head intending to ask the tour guide beside him if he knew their current location. Unfortunately, Gao Yang immediately gave up on the idea as the tour guide was furiously drawing a cross on his chest and yelling out prayers. Gao Yang decided it was best not to disturb him.

Everything was in chaos inside the twenty cabin plane as everyone was in a frenzy. Two of the hunting company’s staff members who were initially consoling everyone were now crying louder than the rest of the pa.s.sengers.

Gao Yang was currently the most cool-headed in the aircraft cabin, but his composure didn’t last for long. All sorts of feelings rushed to him at once—fear, despair, and remorse, especially once Gao Yang thought about his parents. Finally, he involuntarily let out a bitter cry.

The thing that Gao Yang was most afraid of was not the impending doom, but rather the pain his parents would have to endure following his death. 

Time seemed to pa.s.s by excruciatingly slowly as they approached death’s doorsteps. So slow that it allowed people to reflect on their entire lives. Gao Yang was currently experiencing exactly this as his twenty-three year old life’s events were flashing by in his eyes like a movie.

While Gao Yang was reminiscing about his life, the plane’s alt.i.tude dropped lower and lower. After a huge jolt, the head of the plane started plummeting downwards.

When the lights in the cabin suddenly switched off, Gao Yang mustered all his strength to curl up into a ball with his two hands protecting the back of his head.

After a dreadfully loud crash, Gao Yang abruptly face-planted into the chair in front of him. The impact left him completely dazed. Both his shoulders and his stomach were pulled back by his seat belt in one powerful jerk. It was as if he was getting cut in half, making Gao Yang feel closer to death.

Gao Yang’s eyes were squeezed shut. But, after the sharp pain, he sensed that he was submerged in something chilly and immediately realized that he was in water.

Gao Yang immediately held his breath instinctively. A few moments later, Gao Yang realized that he wasn’t dead yet. The plane fell into the water and he knew he had to head up to the surface.

Gao Yang opened his eyes. Even though it was very dark, with the help of a flashlight, he was still able to see vague outlines of shapes underwater.

The plane broke into two pieces and the split happened right above Gao Yang’s head.

Gao Yang tried to unbuckle his seatbelt, but he couldn’t find the release clutch. Time was ticking away. Just when Gao Yang was almost out of breath, he suddenly remembered that the tour guide carried a hunting knife on his waist.

Gao Yang reached out with his left hand to first find the tour guide’s arm. Moving his hand downwards, he finally found the knife’s handle.

After drawing out the knife, he severed the seat belt. Gao Yang resisted the urge to head up, and reached out to the tour guide. He wanted to cut of his seat belt as well except he saw the remains of the tour guide’s open skull. He immediately gave up on saving him, and reached underneath the seat to open a life jacket. By kicking with his legs, he floated his way up to the surface.

When he finally reached the surface, he desperately gasped for air. Gao Yang immediately put on the life jacket and pulled the attached rope. He felt it rapidly inflate with air. Gao Yang finally released a big sigh of relief.

n.o.body would have imagined that a regular plane like theirs would fall into water. It was so unrealistic to the point that no one else had thought to grab the life jacket underneath their seat.

Alert even in a hectic situation, Gao Yang didn’t forget to take out the life jacket. Thankfully, it was still in good condition, but as for what to do next, Gao Yang was completely bewildered. 

Even though it was still the middle of the day, due to the howling winds and heavy rainfall, it was as dark as night. In addition, the rainstorm made it impossible to see where sh.o.r.e was as the rain was continuously splashing across the surface. Gao Yang’s only wish was to find a place to get to the sh.o.r.e but he had no idea which direction to swim.

Feeling a bit of panic, Gao Yang randomly chose a direction and started to swim with all his might. However, he soon realized that every time he kicked his leg, he felt a piercing pain in his left knee. Furthermore, even if the life jacket was providing him buoyancy, he didn’t have any energy to swim.

Without much choice, Gao Yang stopped his attempt in swimming to the sh.o.r.e and decided to float in the water to rest. It was at this moment that Gao Yang discovered that he was being pushed by a current.

The current signaled that he was in a river and not a lake, making him feel considerably more at ease. By drifting with the current and using minimal energy to swim at an angle, he would be able to reach the sh.o.r.e.

This new discovery made Gao Yang release a huge sigh of relief. He then found that he was still holding the knife tightly within his hands, a necessary item to survive in the wilderness. However, he couldn’t hold to the knife since it would interfere with his swimming. Not wanting to lose the knife, he stuck it into his belt and then fastened it tighter around his waist.

Gao Yang wanted to rest before attempting to approach the sh.o.r.e. Except he didn’t get to rest long enough before hearing an ominous burst of gunfire.

Gao Yang stretched out his neck to take a look and was alarmed to discover that somewhere up ahead was a huge foggy area.

The fog indicated that there was either a waterfall or dangerous rapids. Either of these places would be fatal to Gao Yang in his current condition.

Furiously swearing, Gao Yang paddled with his life on the line, hoping to reach the sh.o.r.e before arriving in the danger zone. However, with his current strength, he couldn’t go against the rising water flow.

Finally, Gao Yang was washed down a waterfall. Luckily this waterfall wasn’t too steep and Gao Yang only choked on some water. Coming out of the water dazed, he realized that he could see both sides of the river.

Ironically, seeing the sh.o.r.e now led Gao Yang to feel that it was a bad omen. The sh.o.r.e signified that the river channel was becoming narrower and the current would be more turbulent. In addition, there were so many reefs that the whole river was filled with life-threatening obstacles.

At this point, Gao Yang completely ignored the pain from his left knee and used both his hands and legs to avoid the reefs at all costs. Eventually, his luck ran out and he rammed into a huge reef. Everything went pitch black.

An unknown amount of time pa.s.sed before he finally opened his eyes. He felt sharp pains throughout his entire body, making him feel helpless and that it was better off being dead than alive.

Once Gao Yang became a bit more aware of his surroundings, he discovered he was actually only four to five meters away from the sh.o.r.eline. Most importantly, his feet could touch the river’s soft mud bed.

Suddenly filled with hope, Gao Yang felt a surge of energy from within his body. Utilizing all four limbs, he crawled up the sh.o.r.e with much difficulty. After his upper torso was out the water, he took a half hour break and then pulled himself out of the water.

Once he was on land, he felt tired as f*ck. Not only was he exhausted, but he was hungry—so terribly hungry.

Gao Yang knew even though he managed to survive the plane crash by pure luck, danger was still imminent as this was Africa. In Africa’s wilderness, being eaten by a wild animal wouldn’t even be acknowledged by the news since it was such a common occurrence.

Taking in the surroundings, Gao Yang found out that he was in the savannahs. There were gra.s.slands as far as one could see with huge trees sprinkled here and there. The sun was close to the horizon so Gao Yang didn’t know if it was morning or evening because he couldn’t figure out which direction was which. 

After taking a quick glance around, Gao Yang did some quick exercises. He then realized his body condition wasn’t as bad as he thought other than his left knee. Fortunately his bone was all right and it was just an outer wound. He felt a dull ache throughout the rest of his body, but other than that he wasn’t really hurt. 

Gao Yang let out a sigh of relief knowing that he didn’t have a major injury and started inspecting his personal belongings. Being a military enthusiast and a veteran backpacker, he had a habit of bringing his PSK around no matter what, making it a major benefit for his current situation.

The so-called PSK, is an English abbreviation for Personal Survival Kit. As a military enthusiast and a wilderness survival show addict, Gao Yang carried the PSK f.a.n.n.y pack around his waist all-year round. Even though he was sometimes labeled as delusional, his persistence had finally paid off.

The only thing Gao Yang regretted was that the PSK was small for the sake of portability. Before leaving for Africa, Gao Yang chose specific items that weren’t too useful for his current situation.  

His PSK contained two big bars of chocolate, a fire stick, a compa.s.s, a magnifying gla.s.s, ten meters of paracord, five fish hooks, ten meters of fishing line, a survival whistle, four condoms, and a first aid kit.

Originally, Gao Yang’s PSK had way more things, but because he was flying by airplane, he could only bring his knife, lighter, and other related items in his carry-on. Luckily, he obtained a knife from the tour-guide, one of the most important items for survival in the outdoors.

As essential high calorie outdoor perishables, the two giant chocolate bars were currently Gao Yang’s most important possessions.

While Gao Yang nibbled on his chocolate bars, he felt an urge to cry.

He didn’t dare to eat all of the chocolate and only devoured one of them. If he weren’t so hungry, he would’ve only eaten a few small pieces of chocolate. He knew while he couldn’t find food, these two bars of chocolate were life-savers.

After he finished eating and was waiting for his strength to recover, he closely examined the knife he got from the tour guide in order to calm his mind.

The knife’s craftsmanship was of high calibre and with one look, one could tell that it was handmade. It was about thirty-two centimeters in length and around five millimeters in thickness. It had a tear-drop shaped tip with its body sharpened over a large surface area, and a bra.s.s handle made from desert metal and an extremely beautiful wood. The most exquisite part was the knife’s hamon-styled edge. Gao Yang was also delighted to know that the knife was made of carbon-steel instead of stainless steel. This was because the majority of stainless steel products were c.r.a.ppy ma.s.s produced goods that could never be forged into such a beautiful blade.

Testing out the knife’s sharpness, Gao Yang found it could easily be used for shaving. After thinking about how the previous owner must have cherished the knife, Gao Yang let out a sigh. The knife’s previous owner was a white South African man who was Gao Yang’s hunting group’s tour guide. During the flight, Gao Yang even chatted with him regarding the knife. Who would have thought that the knife would ultimately end up in his hands? 

Gao Yang felt sad that he was the only one that survived the crash, but was thankful for his great luck. When everyone was selecting seats before take-off, they all avoided the uncomfortable tail area, but Gao Yang chose the tail because he knew it was the safest part of the airplane. Apart from good luck, this was the other reason why he survived this plane crash.

Gao Yang shook his head, trying to force himself to stop thinking of useless things.  He fished out his compa.s.s and was astonished to find that the sun was located to the west, indicating that it was currently the afternoon. Gao Yang’s plane had left around this time period, meaning that he  had been unconscious for a whole twenty-four hours.

Gao Yang did not know just how far he floated in those twenty-four hours, but he knew that the farther he drifted away from the crash site, the less of a chance he’d get rescued. Another impending issue now was that the sky was currently dark.

Thanks to shows like Animal Planet and Man vs. Wild, Gao Yang had an understanding of how terrifying the African plains were at night. He didn’t dare linger any longer and he struggled to get on his feet. His best option was to seek shelter or at least make a campfire before it got even darker.

The riverbank had tons of washed-up branches that were dry, making it a quick task to gather them. He first found a sufficient length stick to act as his crutch and then gathered as many dry branches as possible to prepare for his first night in the African plains. 

While doing his tasks, Gao Yang didn’t forget to take note of any sounds from all four directions. He had to be on guard against many things. Since it was currently in the middle of the rainy season, the gra.s.s in the plains were very long and luscious. If one did not wish to be suddenly attacked by a wild beast, then one had to vigilant.

Gao Yang decided to camp out farther away from the riverbank to avoid any beasts that might approach the water for a drink. Being away from the riverbank also would protect him in case there was a sudden increase in the water level. During the rainy season, even if there was no rainfall, it was normal for flash floods to occur which would exponentially increase the downstream river currents.

Gao Yang’s plan was to first find shelter for the night and then forage for food the next day with his fishing hook and line since he still had them; there was a high chance for catching fish.

As long as there was food, Gao Yang would be able to survive a couple of days. While waiting for his knee to recover, he could send signals for help and hopefully be rescued. If no one came, he could wait to recover and then create a wooden raft and sail down the current. He firmly believed that there would definitely be people who lived near the river; the only problem was how far they were.

With his essential survival items, he had faith in staying alive. However, it seemed like the heavens were adamant in opposing him. Just when Gao Yang was using the paracord to make a bundle of firewood while heading towards his camp, he suddenly heard a loud gunshot.